Point of desperation and recharge

One thing that really strikes us about Namibia, is that it really feels like we are not in Africa. The amount of German words and terms, the number of campervans we see driving around and the many white people we see here make us feel like we are back in Europe. The everlasting desert and the relatively new and sometimes modern, big buildings make it look like a cheap Hollywood set: Western meets Germany meets Africa kind of vibe. In Outjo, this is only confirmed. We have a coffee and a drink at the local Bakkery and while we are there, we see all the tourist campervans that had been driving around in Etosha the last few days. It was really funny to see all these campervans three days in a row, firstly at Halali where we all spent the night, then in Okaukuejo where we had lunch and they had camped again and now at Outjo where we all had a lunch stop. It was definitely one large group, as all the campervans had an A4 piece of paper with the names of the campers. 

Thanks to the app iOverlander, we are quite often able to find great places to stay. We use this app a lot to find camp sites, but also other information like fuel filling stations, places to fill our water bottles and alerts of corrupt police or risk of robberies. In one of the towns we planned to go, Jeroen saw many places with high risk of theft and robbery and only a limited number of seemingly good places to stay. This, together with the heat of the desert, the tiredness of traveling and the worries about the car, gave him a small panic attack and no more energy to travel. In that moment, we both felt the distance to Nairobi was extremely far and it made us a bit homesick. We didn't want to continue anymore, but we also didn't have the energy to go back. As we sat there, looking a bit sad and teary eyes, the waitress tried to cheer us up with a cold bubbly fruit juice.

Through iOverlander however, Emma found a farm with good reviews. The hosts were said to be very friendly and the campsite should be nice. When we arrived, the host saw our tiredness and offered us some coffee and tea. We saw some lightning flashes and big dark clouds on the way to the farm and it looked like it was going to rain, so we decided to stay in a cottage instead of camping. We just had gotten rid of the mold and we did not plan on getting it back in the tent. 

Our time at the Münsterland farm of the Weakley family was in one word: WONDERFUL. We feel really lucky to have met some amazing people on our travels and they are definitely in that category. We planned to stay for a night and then continue west, but we ended up staying for 4 nights. The farm was super huge, with several different hiking trails for us to watch the birds. They had farm animals we could feed and pet (including ostriches) and an amazing swimming pool, which we happily used to escape the heat of the day. But the best thing was the host family. We had the opportunity to eat with them in the evenings and we were happy to do so. The food was amazing and the company just as great. 

We did not do much at the farm. We just enjoyed every second of it and we fully recharged. The most exciting thing happened when suddenly the cats started making some strange noises. Jandre, the family's son went to check and suddenly saw a zebra snake! This type of spitting cobra is highly venomous, with only little antidote available, and has the annoying habit of going into houses and even into people's beds to enjoy the warmth. Usually they catch the snakes to release them at the border of the farm, but with this young one there was too much risk of it continuously trying to get into the house. Unfortunately it had to be shot, to avoid the family or the worker's families, who also live at the farm, being in any danger. With pain in his heart, Jandre had to pull the trigger and we were able to see the snake up close.